A. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to systems for detecting the presence of occupants of an automobile. In particular, the invention relates to systems that detect the presence of a child in a child's seat without other passengers and the automobile is not in an operational mode. In this case, corrective action is taken to minimize injuries to the child.
B. Prior Art
Most, if not all, jurisdictions within the United States of America require infants and children of certain age to be strapped into a child's seat when the automobile is in motion. Failure to do so is an infraction of the law and could result in the operator paying a fine for the infraction. Even though this law protects infants and children under certain conditions, it could also cause injuries or even death to the infant and children it is suppose to protect. One of the conditions occurs when an operator parks the vehicle and forgets to remove the occupant from the child seat. There have been reports in the press that the operator leaves an occupant in the baby seat, the temperature soars or drops and as a result the child or infant suffers injuries. In fact, there have been reports of children and/or infants dying from high temperatures.
To prevent this unintended result, the prior art has provided systems that detect the presence of occupants in an infant seats of unattended vehicles and sound an alarm on such detection. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,949,340 and 6,714,132 are examples of such prior art systems. Even though the systems provided in these patents work well for intended purposes, the child's seat in these systems requires some type of power which is derived from the vehicle, in which the child's seat is mounted. To obtain power from the vehicle the child's seat is usually wired to the electrical system of the vehicle. This requirement imposes unnecessary restrictions which limits portability of child's seat. In other words, if the child's seat is wired to the vehicle electrical system as is required by U.S. Pat. No. 5,949,340, the seat can only be used with the vehicle to which it is wired.
In view of the prior art limitations, there is a need to provide a more efficient detection system that makes the child's seat portable so that it can be used in different vehicles.